Italy, West Germany, 1961
77m (UK), 83m (Germany), 91m, 2,900 metres
35mm film, Totalscope, Super/100, colour, 2.35:1
mono, Italian
An Italian/West German fantasy/horror film directed by Mario Bava.
Premise
When his lover, Daianara, seems to go mad, Hercules is told by the oracle Medea that her only hope is the Stone of Forgetfulness which he has to retrieve from Hades.
Credits
Crew
Director: Mario Bava
© [not given on screen]
An SpA Cinematografica production
World Rights Held by: Omnia Deutsche Film Gmbh
Produced by: Achille Piazzi
Story, Screenplay and Dialogue: Alessandro Continenza, Mario Bava, Duccio Tessari, Franco Prosperi
Director of Photography: Mario Bava
Editor: Mario Serandrei
Incidental Music by: Armando Trovajoli directed by the composer
Sound: Luigi Puri
Costumes: Mario Giorsi
Key Make Up: Franco Palombi
Hair Stylist: Nicla Pertosa
Art Director and Set Dresser: Franco Lolli
Cast
Reg Park (Ercole)
Christopher Lee (Lico)
Leonora Ruffo (Princess Daianira of Ecalia)
Giorgio Ardisson (Teseo)
Marisa Belli (Arethusa)
Ida Galli (Persephone)
Franco Giacobini (Telemaco)
Mino Doro (Keros)
Rosalba Neri (Helena) 1Although Rosalba Neri is credited on-screen her relatively small role was in fact played by her sister Monica]
Ely Dracò (Giocasta)
Gaia Germani (Medea, the Cybele)
Raf Baldassarre (mercenary leader)
Elisabetta Pavan (Tamar)
Aldo Padinotti (Sinis)
Claudio Marzulli
Monica Neri *
Grazia Collodi [Elettra] *
Alternative Titles
Hercule contre les vampires – France
Hercules at the Center of the Earth – USA
Hercules in the Centre of the Earth – UK
Hercules in the Haunted World – USA
Hercules vs the Vampires
Herkules gegen die Vampire – Austria
Herkules voittaa helvetin – Finland
Vampire gegen Herakles – Germany
The Vampires vs Hercules
With Hercules to the Center of the Earth
References
Periodicals
- The Daily Cinema no.8683 (5 November 1962) p.10 – review
- Filmwoche 2 June 1962 p.11 – review
- Kine Weekly no.2875 (8 November 1962) p.15 – review (by Josh Billings)
- Monthly Film Bulletin vol.30 no.349 (February 1963) p.21 – credits, review
- Monthly Film Bulletin vol.53 no.624 (January 1986) pp.17-18 – credits, review (by Philip Strick)
- Motion Picture Herald vol.232 no.7 (30 September 1964) p.139 – review
Books
- aka: Joe D'Amato p.13 – credits
- The Christopher Lee Filmography by Tom Johnson and Mark A. Miller pp.109-112
- Epic Films (2nd edition) by Gary Allen Smith pp.120-121 – illustrated credits, review
- The Films of Christopher Lee by Robert W. Pohle and Douglas C. Hart pp.85-86
- The Haunted World of Mario Bava by Troy Howarth pp.48-57; 333 – illustrated review; credits
- The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide by Stephen Jones p.50 – credits, review
- Italian Horror Films of the 1960s: A Critical Catalog of 62 Chillers by Lawrence McCallum pp.114-120 – illustrated credits, review
- Lord of Misrule (new edition) by Christopher Lee pp.203-204
- Mario Bava by Alberto Pezzotta pp.25-28; 104
- Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark by Tim Lucas pp.389-410 – illustrated review, synopsis, production notes, credits
